2 Responses to “All Knowing Asshole”

Able sacrificed his animals to God, while Cain sacrificed his herbs. God seemed to find the animals a greater sacrifice, and this fits with the greater sacrifice of blood, which would eventually be formalized in the law of Moses, and Perfected on the Cross, via the Blood of Christ.

Cain became jealous of God giving attention to Able, but what did Cain do with this jealousy? He killed.

And, not only did God spare the life of Cain in that moment of His Anger/Dissappointment, He let Cain live out his life naturally, which is God’s Mercy, which fits the Mercy He shows in His forgiveness of our own sins.

It is all about putting God first, this is the tempering force that creates the finest people; To give the first born to God, to give the best sample of the flock to Him, instead of keeping it for ourselves. Able was being a good son, and the world hated this, and killed him.

I can not find anything evil or hypocritical in this story, and that in either a strict Torah context or a strict New Testament context.

Thank you for providing your perspective on this topic and thank you for keeping your comment civil and free of insults this time. I truly appreciate it. I think it’s fairly obvious why non-Christians find this whole blood sacrifice thing so off putting. The demand for blood just seems so barbaric and primitive. The idea of a barbaric and primitive god is obviously an unappealing one, even to the Christian. Clearly God’s contempt of Cain’s offering seems a bit unfair. Able was the shepherd, loosing a sheep was nothing to him. Cain was a farmer, a tiller of the earth. The fruit of the earth was all he had and he offered up his best to the Lord. I guess I just don’t understand the reason for God’s bloodthirst. Why did a living thing have to die to appease God? Cain was given no reason to believe he needed to procure one of his brother’s sheep to kill as an offering, so why the rebuke? Didn’t an all knowing God know that playing favorites with such a naive and primitive people could result in a volatile response? And can you point me to where I can find it said that Cain killed Able out of Jealousy?